THE FIRST Minister is urging councils to accept the Scottish Government's funding deal in this year's budget as she insisted it would help local authorities meet the "challenge" of paying social care workers the living wage.

Nicola Sturgeon called on all local authorities to accept the offer from Finance Secretary John Swinney who provided final details of next year's Local Government Finance Settlement to council leaders earlier this week.

It includes extending the council tax freeze , maintaining the pupil/teacher ratio in schools, as well as £250 million for integrating health and social care services.

Mr Swinney said the proposals delivered a "strong but challenging" financial settlement for local government.

Finance Secretary John Swinney (Photo: PA)

But umbrella body Cosla has rejected the funding offer, describing it as "totally unacceptable".

Cosla said councils are facing £350 million of cuts, while some local authorities are considering breaking the council tax freeze.

The SNP leader's comments came today at the party's first ever political conference for members who are disabled.

During her speech in Glasgow , Ms Sturgeon said: "The living wage makes a real difference to the lives of the lowest paid in Scotland - and with the limited powers we currently have in Scotland, we have helped ensure that a higher proportion of the workforce in Scotland benefit from it than any other nation in the UK.

"Back in 2011, the Scottish Government became the first government in the UK to roll out the living wage across the public sector where we control the pay bill - directly benefiting around 3,000 workers."

She added: "Our social care workers play an invaluable role in looking after the most vulnerable in our communities - and with an ageing population, it is more important than ever that we attract and retain the best staff by paying them a fair wage.

"Both the SNP Government and local authorities have a shared aspiration to see care workers paid a living wage, and that's why we have included funding to roll it out in our funding offer to councils.

"And from October this year we'll deliver a living wage of £8.25 for 40,000 social care workers across Scotland.

"Delivering this landmark policy is a challenge for local government in the current financial circumstances - no one is pretending otherwise. But the offer from the Scottish Government will help meet that challenge.

"By accepting the Local Government Finance Settlement, the SNP and Labour can work together to take a huge leap forward in tackling low pay in Scotland - and help to build a fairer Scotland."

Ms Sturgeon addressed the event in Glasgow along with Dennis Robertson, who became Holyrood's first ever blind MSP when he was elected in 2011.

SNP MSP Dennis Robertson (Photo: PA)

Mr Robertson said: "For almost 200 people with disabilities to be gathering for the first disabled conference of any political party in Scotland is deeply inspiring - and represents a great opportunity to nurture skills, encourage debate and empower our disabled members.

"The SNP Government is committed to increasing participation amongst people with disabilities, and recently announced a new fund to support disabled candidates standing for election.

"But there is still more work to be done and today's conference is a ground-breaking opportunity to discuss these issues and to continue our progress towards ensuring that nobody in Scotland ever feels excluded from the political process because of a physical or mental impairment."